[Jacob-list] Pretty frusterated with my first Jacob Crop

[Meg Steensland]

Sorry to hear of your troubles just now finding this looking at older mail I had kept. 2005 was a year of the ram here - 11 rams and three ewes - first one named Wanda as in I wanda how we got any!  06 and 07 weer better in that we are more balanced,  I still fret over having to deal with so many ram lambs that will be market boys but now have an easier outlet.
   
  Yesterday the best 2007 guy found a new home, I will keep his half brother and have 2 more nice gus I would keep if I had room.
   
  Re exotic sales - I went to one with an alpaca buyer in OH in April and he bought all the good alpacas and a few lamas.  I noticed a LOT of sheep that seemed to be part Jacob - I would not buy any from an auction but then, I know so many breeders now that it is easy for me to say that!  They also had a lot of zebras and African herbivores at the exotic sale.
   
  We have a network of OH Jacob breeders and I would strongly urge others to start to forge such a network even if yiu need to go one state over to find a buddy or two.  WE meet 4x per year - next one at Utica ice cream plant June 16 and welcome others with exotic breeds as we mostly talk about issues of interest to any sheep people.  

Gotothewhip at aol.com wrote:
      Well... I'm not having much luck!
   
  I bought a flock of Reg. JSBA Sheep about 6 weeks ago.  My ewes were bred, and I had a single ram lamb on the ground.
   
  Since then, The first week, I had another single ram lamb out of a young ewe.  Then came the twin Ram Lambs last Thurs, I had to pull and ended up loosing the Ewe a few days later.
   
  Last Monday, I had another ewe give me twin RAM lambs... and My really OLD OLD OLD ewe, had triplet ram lambs, but unfortunately, all 3 were born dead... VERY tiny.
   
  With no ewes left to lamb... and NOT A SINGLE EWE LAMB BORN ( 7 ram lambs) A friend called me from an exotic sale this weekend out of state.. He said that there was a guy selling out his Jacob herd.  So I had him buy the 4 young bred ewes.  Knowing they were not Reg. I had hopes that I could enroll them in the Foundation flock of JSBA..... After all, I had purchased a ewe at this sale a month earlier, and she IS registered, and a REALLY nice ewe with exceptional fleece......
   
  Then he delivered them.  I don't know what they are.. I don't THINK they are Jacobs.  They are colored correctly.. But.... Their horns are STRANGE.. On one of the ewes.. She looks like a true Jacob.. Her build, fleece, and look is that of my herd she has 4 horns, but they are soft nubs (she is 18 months old).  The others are much heavier boned than mine, they seem to have so much more substance.  Their horns are there.. but are flat.  I will post some pictures to photobucket.com later tonight, as Id like some input.  Additionally.. their ears seem much smaller.
   
  Id like your opinions on them... I am planning on culling them.. But perhaps because I'm comparing them to my herd of show Jacobs.. I'm prejudiced .
   
  And following in the bad luck of lambing .... One of these ewes lost a set of twins this afternoon while i was at the store.  
   
  I almost wondering if I'm taking too good of care of them!  They are in my horse foaling stalls, with a camera on them... and we are really on top of things...
   
   



    
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